JUNE 7, 2007

The busy life of FB

Being a Formula 1 team principal is a busy life and so it is no real surprise to hear that there are reports in the Italian press that Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore is currently in dispute with magistrates in Milan who want to have a chat with him about David Mills, the English lawyer who is accused of having accepted a bribe of $600,000 from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Being a Formula 1 team principal is a busy life and so it is no real surprise to hear that there are reports in the Italian press that Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore is currently in dispute with magistrates in Milan who want to have a chat with him about David Mills, the English lawyer who is accused of having accepted a bribe of $600,000 from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in return for helpful testimony in a corruption probe into the Italian premier's activities in 1997.

Mills set up a number of companies for Berlusconi between 1980 and 1995 and, investigators claim, was the architect of a financial structure which allowed Berlusconi to reduce his Italian tax payments. According to the investigators, the money from Berlusconi to Mills passed through seven bank accounts in different countries, including one owned by Briatore.

Mills and Briatore were both directors of Benetton Formula in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The good news for all concerned is that Flavio likes to take regular holidays in Sardinia and almost never misses F1 races. Thus a little patience will no doubt be rewarded as he is sure to be in Italy over the summer holidays or at Monza in September.